Community CollegePublicHSI

College of San Mateo

San Mateo, California·Public, 2-year·Far West·collegeofsanmateo.edu
6-yr Graduation
61%
Total enrollment
9,901
peer median 6,620
Avg net price
$1,504
-$5.7k vs Community College
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About

College of San Mateo (CSM) is a public community college in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo County Community College District. College of San Mateo is located at the northern corridor of Silicon Valley and situated on a 153-acre site in the San Mateo hills. The college currently serves approximately 15,000 day, evening and weekend students. The college offers 69 A.A./A.S. degree majors and 81 certificate programs.

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
61%
Full-time retention
73%

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 129 Title IV programs, 6 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 123 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
129
Passing
6
4.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

129programs
  • Passing6 · 4.7%
  • No Data123 · 95.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
6
No data
123

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

6
Psychology General
Associate Degree · Psychology
+37.8%
$49,708 vs $36,082
Social Sciences General
Associate Degree · Social Sciences
+45.8%
$52,619 vs $36,082
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+54.8%
$55,857 vs $36,082
Communication and Media Studies
Associate Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+80.5%
$65,120 vs $36,082
Business Administration Management and Operations
Associate Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+100.6%
$72,390 vs $36,082
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+301.3%
$144,794 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Associate Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
9%
$12,500 debt · $144,794 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Accredited since 1952Next review Oct 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 9

  1. Aug 2025Initial Accreditation
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (ADNUR) - Associate degree programs
  2. Jun 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  3. Apr 2021Grant Substantive Change: Program
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)
  4. Feb 2021Accreditation Reaffirmed: Warning Removed
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)
  5. Aug 2020Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning
    American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation · Dental Assisting (DA)

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$127
$30–48k$646
$48–75k$3,951
$75–110k$6,489
$110k+$7,818

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price
$1,504
-$5,674vs Community College median $7,178
Federal loans
0.5%
In-state tuition
$1,332
Out-of-state
$11,384

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 1,227 students received $6.8M in Pell grants, alongside $311K in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
1,227
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$6.8M
$6,759,257 total
Direct Loans
$311K
72 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$125K
37 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$151K
33 loan awards
Parent PLUS$36K
2 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 51 borrowers who entered repayment, 2 (3.9%) defaulted within three years above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
3.9%
+1.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
51
Defaulted
2
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
7.9%
2017
6.3%
2018
13.2%
2019
3.9%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at College of San Mateo

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs71
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

855 total completions
01Social Sciences
24628.8%
02Business
16419.2%
03Psychology
779.0%
04Health Professions
728.4%
05Communication
708.2%
06Security/Protective
627.3%
07Mathematics
526.1%
08Computer Sciences
485.6%
09Physical Sciences
374.3%
10Biological Sciences
273.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
9,901
12-mo unduplicated
14,972
Undergraduate
14,972
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
48%7,193
Women
52%7,779

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
34.9%
White
25.7%
Asian
20.9%
Two or more
6.4%
Non-resident
4.3%
Black
2.7%
Unknown
2.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
2.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
234
157 M · 77 W
Women athletes
32.9%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$3.0M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$0
$0
Head-coach salaries
$32K
$26K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Football
81 M ·
$638K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
18 M · 13 W
$119K
Baseball
29 M ·
$309K
Basketball
14 M · 10 W
$267K
Swimming
10 M · 12 W
$89K
Water Polo
9 M · 12 W
$133K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.40
3 offenses · 7,512 students

3-year trend

0.272 yrs ago0.441 yr ago0.40Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
8
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
3

By location

3total
  • On campus3

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
24.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
163

College of San Mateo vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions College of San Mateo selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectCollege of San Mateo
61%9,901$1,504Community College
8,964$9,582Community College
6,232$7,561Community College
3,914$5,517Community College
4,904$9,415Community College
5,053$4,591Community College
4,332$10,765Community College
6,121$2,974Community College
5,062$9,867Community College
6,538$6,522Community College
6,131$9,259Community College
8,905$6,187Community College
6,606$8,433Community College
10,109$12,211Community College
9,336$12,591Community College
8,544$6,239Community College
6,334$2,991Community College
4,358$7,557Community College
9,463$11,245Community College
9,374$3,694Community College
6,909$5,198Community College
7,173$13,498Community College
11,920$1,996Community College
4,585$11,481Community College
9,355$4,582Community College
8,412$5,719Community College
8,537$7,178Community College
6,620$6,101Community College
4,871$9,090Community College
5,327$8,035Community College
7,655$1,842Community College
Peer group median61%6,620$7,178

Institutions like College of San Mateo

Explore the federal data for institutions in College of San Mateo's comparison group.

College of San Mateo Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Planning, Research, Innovation and Effectiveness (PRIE)
Reports to Office of the President
Email
csmplanning-research [at] smccd.edu
Phone
(650) 574-6198
Address
1700 W. Hillsdale Boulevard, San Mateo, CA 94402

PRIE’s mission is to use the tools of research to support the college’s institutional decision-making and planning.

Visit IR office page
Team
5 members
  • Monique Nakagawa
    Senior Planning and Research Analyst
  • Natalie Alizaga
    Research Inquiry and Institutional Effectiveness Manager
  • Heeju Jang
    Planning and Research Analyst
  • Bryan Swartout
    Planning and Research Analyst
  • Edgardo Molina Carlos
    Administrative Assistant

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of College of San Mateo (5)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Dana Carvey
    Entertainment
  • Luana DeVol
    Music
  • Jerry Hill
    Politics
  • Jon Miller
    Broadcasting
  • Kurtwood Smith
    Entertainment

Frequently asked questions about College of San Mateo

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about College of San Mateo.

What is the graduation rate at College of San Mateo?

College of San Mateo reports a 6-year graduation rate of 61% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend College of San Mateo?

College of San Mateo reports a total enrollment of 9,901 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at College of San Mateo?

The average net price at College of San Mateo is $1,504 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

Where is College of San Mateo located?

College of San Mateo is located in San Mateo, California 94402-3784.

Who runs Institutional Research at College of San Mateo?

College of San Mateo's IR work is done by the Planning, Research, Innovation and Effectiveness (PRIE), which reports to Office of the President.

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